Thank you Pals for your reply. Help me with your terms. What does a "501" mean?
If it's a school ASB fundraiser, but then the ASB gives a share to the PTSO, it's still the same money that the ASB raised. One would think you can't suddenly transfer money to an organization just to be able to hide what you do with it. It seems dishonest.
I would defiantely be checking into this. Ask the Principal, call the School District, etc. All of this information should be available upon request in my opinion. Just sounds really fishing that they are saying "NO". And cash to the Teachers, NO WAY! That would be the last fundraiser I would support from that organization. Good luck to you.
If they are a 501 they have to legally disclose their records to the public but it sounds like they are going through your school which is basically up to the group. Are there bylaws for this group? I do questioned though even if they are not required legally why they woudl not share this info. We send home our minutes to every family, seems strange. Bottom line this is going to effect their fundrasing efforts down the road...not sure if they see that.
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
Whoa. That's the last PTSO I would want to be a part of. Any reputable organization would gladly tell parents what they are doing. Why on earth would anyone not want to do this? It sounds to me that there may have been some embezzlement or other things going on to make them want to be secretive.
I don't know about the law. Hopefully there are some experts out there. I just know that this PTSO wouldn't last in my school district.
I am a new member and need some help. Our PTSO did a joint fundraiser with the school and subsequently gave out cash to teachers as gifts. They never told the rest of the parents they were doing this so now people aren't too happy. Money that was supposed to go to the classrooms ended up in teacher pockets. Now some parents want to see the minutes of the meetings to see who approved this and whether the amount of money that came in matches the money that they have recorded going out. The PTSO has refused to make public any of its minutes or expenditure records and has said that because they are a private organization, they don't have to do anything. What is ethical here? For all practical purposes, we know that it's affiliated with the school and district and to suddenly claim they don't have to share records makes every other parent and community member suspicious. Are PTSO's really exempt from public record requests? What school would ever allow an organization to have fundraising money and then not be able to access records?
Does anyone have advice out there? I feel like I am dealing with an Iron Curtain organization. It's my feeling that all records should be open to the entire community. Why would someone NOT want that?
